WHFoods Weekly Newsletter

[World's Healthiest Foods]() Weekly Newsletter - September 4, 2017 The George Mateljan Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interests or advertising. Our mission is to help you eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health. Dear Friend of World's Healthiest Foods, This week, we feature another one of our breakfast recipes from our upcoming WHFoods 7-Day Meal Plan to help you on your way to optimal health. I encourage you to try this week's featured breakfast recipe and see how easy it is to combine great nutrition with great taste! [Power Oatmeal with Blueberries]( We would love to hear from you. Please e-mail us your rave reviews, comments, or any suggestions you might have after having tried the recipes from our powerful WHFoods 7-Day Menu, gmf@mauigateway.com Can I still have an unwanted reaction to wheat or grains, even if I always choose whole grains? Yes, even though whole grains make a far better food choice than refined grains, you can still experience an unwanted reaction to them. The proteins in wheat and other grains play an important role in most adverse reactions, and these proteins are not removed when the grains are processed. In addition, other components of grains not removed during processing may contribute to unwanted reactions. Read on to learn more about [reactions to wheat and grains](. Enjoy your week of healthy eating, George [Food of the Week] What's New and Beneficial About Watermelon Recent scientific studies provide even more reasons why you should include Watermelon as part of your healthiest way of eating. When we think about well-known phytonutrients, the category of carotenoids comes quickly to mind. Within that category, we might think first about beta-carotene. But soon after, we are likely to make mention of lycopene - the carotenoid that is best-known for its rich concentration in tomatoes. But it is not only tomatoes that we might want to consider as a concentrated source of lycopene. Recent studies have made it clear that red-fleshed watermelon - on average - is more concentrated in lycopene than red tomatoes. While both foods are top-rated sources of this carotenoid, red-fleshed watermelons typically average between 4-5 milligrams of lycopene in every 100 grams (approximately 2/3rd cup), while red tomatoes usually contain about 3-4 milligrams per 100 grams (approximately ½ cup). Moreover, the bioavailable of lycopene from red-fleshed watermelon appears to be greater than its bioavailability from red tomato. This greater bioavailability may be to do the presence of cis-isomeric lycopene in watermelon, which is a more readily available form of this carotenoid. We were fascinated to see a recent study on consumption of watermelon puree by a group of endurance athletes (trained cyclists) wanting to reduce their risk of post-exercise oxidative stress and inflammation. These cyclists were participating in 15.5 mile time trial on a mountainous course and they consumed about one quart of watermelon puree every 15 minutes while riding in the trial. (A control group of riders consumed a sports beverage containing a similar level of total carbs.) The researchers determined that the antioxidant capacity in the riders' bloodstreams was significantly post-exercise through consumption of the watermelon puree. While no significant change were found in the inflammatory markers measured in the cyclists' bloodstreams, the researchers speculated that a longer term study (not based on a single time trial) would have shown anti-inflammatory benefits. They also specifically noted the solid job done by watermelon puree in providing cyclists with needed energy, as witnessed by the equally strong performance of cyclists in the watermelon group. While few of us would typically compare our meal plans or nutrient needs to the intake of an endurance athlete, it is inspiring to see the principle of nutrient-richness in a natural food paying dividends in this highly-demanding sports context. While watermelon might not rank very high on your personal list of foods with great diversity, this fruit is far more diverse than many people suspect. This diversity includes different flesh colors (pink, red, yellow, and orange), rind patterns (solid and striped) shapes (round, oval, oblong), sizes (5-30 pounds) and nutrient patterns. Recent studies have helped to clarify some of the diversity in nutrient patterns. Specifically, total phenols (including total flavonoids), and vitamin C can vary significantly from variety to variety as well as degree of ripening. In other words, it's not always possible to predict the concentration of these nutrients in watermelon based solely on the variety or solely on the stage or ripening. One apparent exception to this rule is lycopene. The amount of lycopene in watermelon can be predicted from variety and from degree of ripening. Orange and yellow-fleshed watermelons consistently have less lycopene that red-fleshed varieties. In addition, red-fleshed varieties contain more lycopene when allowed to fully ripen. As most red-fleshed varieties ripen, their flesh color changes from white to white-pink to pink to red, and along with each of these color changes comes an increased amount of lycopene. If you are seeking to get the most possible lycopene from your watermelon, you'll want to choose fully-ripened, red-fleshed varieties. However, it's important to remember that all varieties of watermelon can provide you with some great nutrient benefits, and not all nutrients reach maximum concentration along with maximal ripeness. However, you'll typically want to make sure that a watermelon is sufficiently ripe before purchasing it in order to receive great texture and flavor from this fruit. You will find detailed guidelines for choosing watermelons in our How to Select and Store section. Named "Molecule of the Year" over two decades ago by the journal Science, nitric oxide (NO) is a cell signaling molecule that plays a critical role in the regulation of our blood pressure and is intimately tied to our body's regulation of blood sugar. Because two amino acids - arginine and citrulline - play especially important roles in the production of NO, researchers have long been interested in foods that contain unusual amounts of either amino acid. Watermelon definitely passes the test for a citrulline-rich food! While the amount of citrulline in watermelon flesh can vary significantly, the cup of fresh watermelon that we profile on our website is estimated to contain between 200-300 milligrams of citrulline. The sizeable amount of citrulline in watermelon has prompted several recent studies to look at our metabolism of citrulline following consumption of this fruit. One recent study examined these metabolic processes in a group of study participants who consumed between 3-6 cups of watermelon juice per day over a period of several weeks. What the researchers found was a steady and well-maintained level of citrulline in the bloodstream of the participants, yet an increased level of arginine. They concluded from these findings that citrulline from the watermelon juice had undergone conversion into arginine, while still leaving plenty of citrulline to stabilize blood levels in the study participants. This conversion provides us with even more evidence for watermelon as a fruit that can lower our risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes since arginine deficiency - especially chronic moderate or temporarily serve deficiency - has been linked to increase risk of both health problems. [Read More]( [Recipe of the Week] Try This Recipe of the Week 5-Minute Watermelon Frappe Enjoy this delicious, easy-to-prepare, cooling summer drink found on page 597 of the 2nd Edition of theWorld's Healthiest Foods. [Read More]( [Nutrient of the Week] Watermelon is an Excellent Source of Vitamin C Watermelon is an excellent source of important health-protective nutrients, including vitamin C. [Read More]( [Hot Topic] How does canola oil compare with other cooking oils, and should I consider using it in my meal plan? Canola is a seed oil obtained from seeds of one particular variety of rape plant (Brassica napus subsp. Rapus). For this reason, canola oil is also often called rapeseed oil. The "can" in "canola" refers to initial commercial development of rapeseed oil in Canada in the 1970's, and the "ola" in "canola" comes from the Latin word for oil. Siberian kale and rutabagas are very closely related to the variety of rape that is currently being used for extraction of seed oil ... [Read More]( Here's to another week of the Healthiest Way of Eating and Cooking! George [WHFoods Book 2nd Edition] The World's Healthiest Foods, 2nd Edition is complete and ready to order with 2 free gifts valued at $51.95. All international orders (including Canada) must be placed through Amazon.com. More from happy book owners: The book is magnificent! I have absolutely no idea how anyone could pull so much information and material together into one beautiful package. I spent very little time with it before my wife absconded with it; I know she loves it too! I will get it back at some point.Thanks again, and warm regards - David [Read more about our book]( $39.95 [buy now]( visit our homepage at Newsletter circulation: over 120,000 Copyright © 2017 The George Mateljan Foundation, All Rights Reserved George Mateljan Foundation, PO Box 25801, Seattle, Washington 98165 [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](